A Life Near the Water

Walter Inglis Anderson was born in New Orleans, United States of America, in 1903. His early years involved moving between places like Manilus, New York, and eventually back to Louisiana. He studied at the New York School of Fine and Applied Art and later at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. During his time in Europe, he looked closely at the cave paintings in France, a detail that left its mark on how he approached drawing. His hands were often busy with many different materials, from the ceramics at Shearwater Pottery to simple sheets of typing paper.

In Ocean Springs, Mississippi, he worked alongside his brothers, Peter and James McConnell Anderson. They collaborated on pottery designs, creating items like pelican and crab bookends or plates and vases. While much of his time was spent decorating these pieces with sgraffito work and underglaze decoration, his focus often drifted toward the natural world. He found a particular rhythm in the coastal landscapes and the creatures that inhabited them.

The Observations of Horn Island

There was a period when he lived in a small cottage, frequently rowing a boat to Horn Island. This remote place, twelve miles off the coast, became a primary subject for his sketches and watercolors. He would sit for long stretches, observing birds, sea creatures, and the way the light changed during the magic hour at sunset. He often used 8.5 x 11-inch sheets of typing paper to record these sightings. These small, modest scraps of paper hold his studies of flora and fauna.

His work covered a wide range of techniques:

• Watercolors and oil portraits
• Linoleum blockprints and silk screens
• Ceramics and woodcarvings
• Mural painting

He also produced much of his work in Gautier, Mississippi, where he lived on the estate known as Oldfields. During these years, he drew inspiration from the fairy tales he shared with his children, creating block prints and illustrations that reflected a sense of myth and legend.

A Record of the Gulf Coast

The murals he painted for the Ocean Springs Community Center cover 3,000 square feet. These large-scale works depict the history and different climates of the region. Alongside these public projects, he kept more private spaces, such as the Little Room murals, which were discovered after his death in 1965. His output was a continuous record of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, capturing everything from the movement of a black skimmer bird to the stillness of a landscape.

His artistic identity was tied to the rhythms of the environment. He saw no distinction between fine art and folk art, choosing instead to focus on the realization of form through feeling. Whether he was working on a large mural or a small piece of pottery, his attention remained fixed on the textures and lives of the coastal world.